1906 State of the Union Address

Address by US president Theodore Roosevelt

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1906 State of the Union AddressDate| December 3, 1906 (1906-12-03)

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Venue| House Chamber, United States Capitol
Location| Washington, D.C.[1]
Coordinates| 38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W﻿ / ﻿38.88972°N 77.00889°W﻿ / 38.88972; -77.00889
Type| State of the Union Address
Participants| Theodore Roosevelt
Charles W. Fairbanks
Previous| 1905 State of the Union Address
Next| 1907 State of the Union Address

The 1906 State of the Union Address was written by Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, on Monday, December 3, 1906. He did not speak directly to the 59th United States Congress. He said, "The readiness and efficiency of both the Army and Navy in dealing with the recent sudden crisis in Cuba illustrate afresh their value to the Nation. This readiness and efficiency would have been very much less had it not been for the existence of the General Staff in the Army and the General Board in the Navy; both are essential to the proper development and use of our military forces afloat and ashore."[2]

In domestic matters, the President spoke about the importance of education:[3]

> No more shortsighted policy can be imagined than, in the fancied interest of one class, to prevent the education of another class. The free public school, the chance for each boy or girl to get a good elementary education, lies at the foundation of our whole political situation. In every community the poorest citizens, those who need the schools most, would be deprived of them if they only received school facilities proportioned to the taxes they paid. This is as true of one portion of our country as of another.

On foreign affairs, the President spoke about his vision for America's role in the Pacific:

> Our nation fronts on the Pacific, just as it fronts on the Atlantic. We hope to play a constantly growing part in the great ocean of the Orient. We wish, as we ought to wish, for a great commercial development in our dealings with Asia; and it is out of the question that we should permanently have such development unless we freely and gladly extend to other nations the same measure of justice and good treatment which we expect to receive in return. It is only a very small body of our citizens that act badly. Where the Federal Government has power it will deal summarily with any such. Where the several States have power I earnestly ask that they also deal wisely and promptly with such conduct, or else this small body of wrongdoers may bring shame upon the great mass of their innocent and right-thinking fellows—that is, upon our nation as a whole. Good manners should be an international no less than an individual attribute. I ask fair treatment for the Japanese as I would ask fair treatment for Germans or Englishmen, Frenchmen, Russians, or Italians. I ask it as due to humanity and civilization. I ask it as due to ourselves because we must act uprightly toward all men.

## References

[edit]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

1906 State of the Union Address

1. ^ "Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
2. ^ "State of the Union Address: Theodore Roosevelt (December 3, 1906)". Infoplease.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
3. ^ "Annual Message to Congress (1906)". Teaching American History. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

Preceded by

1905 State of the Union Address

|  State of the Union addresses
1906  | Succeeded by

1907 State of the Union Address

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* v
* t
* e

Theodore Roosevelt

* 26th President of the United States (1901–1909)
* 25th Vice President of the United States (1901)
* 33rd Governor of New York (1899–1900)
* Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1897–1898)
* New York City Police Commissioner (1895–1897)

Presidency
(timeline)|

* First inauguration
* historic site
* Second inauguration
* Foreign policy
* "Square Deal"
* Booker T. Washington dinner
* Conservation
* Newlands Reclamation Act
* Transfer Act of 1905
* Antiquities Act
* Pelican Island
* Devils Tower National Monument
* Muir Woods National Monument
* United States Forest Service,
* United States Reclamation Service
* National Wildlife Refuge System
* Roosevelt Arch
* Conference of Governors
* Northern Securities Company breakup
* court case
* Coal strike of 1902
* Pure Food and Drug Act
* Food and Drug Administration
* Meat Inspection Act
* Expediting Act
* Elkins Act
* Hepburn Act
* Aldrich–Vreeland Act
* Tillman Act of 1907
* Federal Employers Liability Act
* Kinkaid Act
* Big stick ideology
* Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty
* Panama Canal Zone
* Panama Canal
* Venezuelan crisis
* Roosevelt Corollary
* Occupation of Cuba
* Russo-Japanese War
* Treaty of Portsmouth
* 1906 Nobel Peace Prize
* Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907
* Army War College
* Roosevelt Hall
* College football meetings
* Bureau of Investigation
* Department of Commerce and Labor
* Bureau of Corporations
* Keep Commission
* Inland Waterways Commission
* Bureau of the Census
* Great White Fleet
* Perdicaris affair
* Cabinet
* White House West Wing
* State of the Union Address, 1901
* 1906
* 1908
* White House desk
* Federal judiciary appointments

Other
events|

* Spanish–American War
* Rough Riders
* Battle of Las Guasimas
* Battle of San Juan Hill
* "Bull Moose" Progressive Party
* New Nationalism
* Assassination attempt
* Boone and Crockett Club
* Smithsonian–Roosevelt African expedition
* "River of Doubt" Amazonian expedition

Life and
homes|

* Birthplace, boyhood home replica
* Sagamore Hill Home and Museum
* Maltese Cross Cabin
* Elkhorn Ranch
* Pine Knot cabin
* New York State Executive Mansion
* Gravesite

Writings
and speeches|

* Theodore Roosevelt bibliography
* The Naval War of 1812 (1882 book)
* "The Strenuous Life" (1899 speech)
* League to Enforce Peace
* "Citizenship in a Republic" (1910 speech)
* "Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual" (1912 post-assassination-attempt speech)
* Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography (1913 book)
* The Forum magazine articles
* Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia
* Archival collections

Elections|

* 1898 New York state election
* Republican National Convention: 1900
* 1904
* 1912
* 1916
* United States presidential elections: 1900
* 1904
* 1912

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Mount Rushmore
* Mount Roosevelt
* Theodore Roosevelt Center and Digital Library
* White House Roosevelt Room
* Theodore Roosevelt National Park
* Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness
* Theodore Roosevelt Island
* Roosevelt National Forest
* Roosevelt Park (San Antonio)
* Roosevelt Study Center
* Theodore Roosevelt Association
* Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins
* Statues
* New York City
* Portland, Oregon
* Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park
* Monument Assemblage
* Theodore Roosevelt Monument
* Roosevelt Memorial, Portland, Oregon
* Proposed presidential library
* Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse
* Roosevelt River
* Theodore Roosevelt Bridge
* Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge
* Theodore Roosevelt Award
* SS President Roosevelt
* USS Theodore Roosevelt (1906, 1961, 1984)
* Roosevelt Road
* U.S. postage stamps

Popular
culture|

* Teddy bear
* "Speak softly, and carry a big stick"
* Books
* Films
* Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King, 1901 film
* The 'Teddy' Bears, 1907 film
* Roosevelt in Africa, 1910 documentary
* The Rough Riders, 1927 film
* Teddy, the Rough Rider, 1940 film
* Rough Riders, 1997 miniseries
* The Roosevelts, 2014 documentary
* Theodore Roosevelt, 2022 miniseries
* Elkhorn, 2024 series

Related|

* Political positions
* "Bully pulpit"
* Ananias Club
* "Nature fakers"
* League to Enforce Peace
* A Guest of Honor
* "Muckraker"
* "Roosevelt Republican"
* Barnes vs. Roosevelt libel trial

Family|

* Alice Hathaway Lee (first wife)
* Edith Kermit Carow (second wife)
* Alice Lee Roosevelt (daughter)
* Theodore Roosevelt III (son)
* Kermit Roosevelt (son)
* Ethel Carow Roosevelt (daughter)
* Archibald Roosevelt (son)
* Quentin Roosevelt (son)
* Theodore Roosevelt IV (grandson)
* Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt III (grandson)
* Quentin Roosevelt II (grandson)
* Kermit Roosevelt Jr. (grandson)
* Joseph Willard Roosevelt (grandson)
* Edith Roosevelt Derby (granddaughter)
* Theodora Roosevelt (granddaughter)
* Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (father)
* Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (mother)
* Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt (sister)
* Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (brother)
* Corinne Roosevelt (sister)
* Cornelius Roosevelt (grandfather)
* James Stephens Bulloch (grandfather)
* James Alfred Roosevelt (uncle)
* Robert Barnhill Roosevelt
* Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (niece)
* Gracie Hall Roosevelt (nephew)
* Pete (dog)

* ← William McKinley
* William Howard Taft →

* ← Garret Hobart

* Category

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* e

State of the Union (list)

* Joint session of Congress
* list
* President's guests
* Designated survivor
* Responses
* State of the State
* State of the City

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Cleveland (2)|

* 1893
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McKinley|

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T. Roosevelt|

* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
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* 1905
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* 1907
* 1908

Taft|

* 1909
* 1910
* 1911*
* 1912*

Wilson|

* 1913
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Harding|

* 1921
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Coolidge|

* 1923
* 1924

* 1925
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* 1927
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Hoover|

* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932

F. Roosevelt|

* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937

* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941 (Four Freedoms)

* 1942
* 1943
* 1944 (Second Bill of Rights)
* 1945

| Truman|

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Eisenhower|

* 1953
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* 1957
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Kennedy|

* 1961
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L. Johnson|

* 1964 (War on poverty)
* 1965

* 1966
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Nixon|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972†

* 1973*
* 1974†

Ford|

* 1975
* 1976
* 1977

Carter|

* 1978†
* 1979†
* 1980†
* 1981

Reagan|

* 1981‡
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984

* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988

G. H. W. Bush|

* 1989‡
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992

Clinton|

* 1993‡
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996

* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000

G. W. Bush|

* 2001‡
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004

* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008

Obama|

* 2009‡
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012

* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016

Trump (1)|

* 2017‡
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

Biden|

* 2021‡
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Trump (2)|

* 2025‡

* Legend: Address to Joint Session
* Written message
* Written message with national radio address
* Split into multiple parts
* † Included a detailed written supplement
* ‡ Not officially a "State of the Union"
Presidents William Henry Harrison (1841) and James Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union

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